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.W. S. ALEXANDER.

' APPARATUS FOR DYEING WOOL TOPS.

No. 375,591. Patented Dec. 27, 1887.

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8441) emtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

j, WILLIAM S. ALEXANDER, OF WEST TROY, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR DYEING WOOL-TOPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,591, dated December 2'7, 188'].

Application filed June 6, 1887. Serial No. 240,433,

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM S. ALEXANDER, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident of West Troy, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Dyeing W'ool-Tops; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to, which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, and which represents an elevation, partly in section, of my improved apparatus for dyeing wool-tops.

My invention has relation to apparatus for dyeing wool-tops; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of an apparatus in which the tops may be placed around a perforated cylinder, which is placed within a receptacle or kettle, and through which the dye-liquor may be forced into the cylinder and through the wool outin the kettle and thereupon back, so that a perfeet circulation of the dye-liquor through the wool may take place, as hereinafter morefully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, the numeral 1 indicates the preparing-kettle, in which the dyeliquor is prepared, the said kettle having a suitable steam-pipe, 2, for the purpose of heating the liquor, and a pipe, 3, extends from this kettle to a force-pump, 5, a suitable stopcock, 4, being upon the said pipe for the purpose of cutting off the supply from the preparing-kettle.

A large tank, 6, has bearings 7 at its ends, in which the tubular trunnions 8 of a cylinder, 9, of perforated metal or wire-gauze, are journaled, the said trunnions being detachable from the cylinder, so that the cylinder may be removed and inserted into the tank while the trunnions remain in their bearings. One of the trunnions is provided with a pulley, 10, to which suitable rotary motion is imparted by any convenientmeans, and the other trunnion is formed with two pipes, 11 and 12, entering it and provided with suitable stop-cocks 13 and 14, and connecting, respectively, with the inlet and discharge side of the pump. Two similar pipes, 15 and 16, having cocks 17 and (No model.)

' the dye-liquor is prepared in the preparing kettle.

WVhen, now, the liquor is prepared and the topsare placed upon the cy1inder,the cock of the pipe from the preparing'kettle is opened and the pump is started, pumping the liquor from the preparing-kettle into the cylinder through the hollow trunnion. Theliquor will thus be forced out through the perforated sides of the cylinder and through the tops upon it, passing out into the tank, where it will be heated by the steam passing through the supply-pipe.

\Vhen all the liquor from the preparing-kettle is pumped out, the cock upon theinlet-pipe of the kettle is turned off and the inlet-pipe from the bottom of the tank is opened, when the pump will continually circulate the liquor from the tank to the cylinder and outthrough the tops.

For the purpose of subjecting the tops to an even exposure to the liquor from both sides the inletpipe from the tank and the dis charge-pipe from the pump are closed, and the discharge-pipe into the bottom of the tank and the supply-pipe from the trunnion are opened, when the liquor will be pumped in at the bottom of the tank and be drawn from the outside of the cylinder into the same, passing again back to the tank, and so forth. In this manner the tops will be perfectly subjected to the dye-liquor and will be thoroughly dyed, and on account of their being wound upon the cylinder they may be removed and dried in the same perfect state in which they were before dyeing, so that the tops and slivers of the tops may be worked as soon as dry, instead ofhaving to be combed again and prepared before being worked. This method andapparatus will therefore save time and labor in preparing the wool, and the dyeing may be done perfectly thoroughly, as the liquor will be forced through the tops from both sides.

It follows that cotton and other fibrous material may be dyed in the same manner as the wool-tops.

Any form of pump may be used and any forms of distributing valves or cocks may be used, so that instead of having four pipes extending to the tank and trunnions two pipes may be used, and cocks which will connect the said pipes with either end of the pump may be employed instead, this arrangement simplifying the construction of the apparatus.

I am aware that apparatus for dyeing has been made in which the articles to be dyed have been arranged upon a hollow perforated cylinder having means for revolving it, and having means for forcing the dyeing-liquid through its trunnions and perforated surface; and I am also aware that dyeing apparatus has been made having a receptacle for the articles to be dyed and a receptacle for the dyeing-liquid and means for pumping the liquid forward and back between the two receptacles, and I do not wish to make any broad claims for either of these constructions; but I am not aware that an apparatus has been made in which the articles to be dyed have been ar ranged upon a revolving and perforated cylinder journaled in atank and having means for first forcing the dycingliquid through the articles to be dyed into the tank, and for thereupon circulating the same liquid alternately in opposite directions through the articles to be dyed, causing the articles to be continually subjected to the influence of the dyeing-liquid, and to be continually bathed in the same; and

I therefore do claim- In apparatus for dyeing wool-tops, the combination of a tank having bearings in its sides and having means for heating it, hollow trunnions journaled in the bearings and having means for revolving one of them, a perforated cylinder for the tops to be Wound upon and secured with its trunnions in the hollow trunnions in the bearings, a pump having feedpipes provided with stopcocks, and entering, respectively, the bottom of the tank and one hollow trunnion,and discharge-pipes provided with stop-cocks, and entering, respectively, I

the bottom of the tank and the hollow trunnion, as shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIAM S. ALEXANDER.

Witnesses:

J OHN OLOTWORTHY, JNO. F. ROY. 

